[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1878 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 1878

 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize a temporary 
   increase in the number of skilled foreign workers admitted to the 
 United States, to improve efforts to recruit United States workers in 
  lieu of foreign workers, and to enforce labor conditions regarding 
                          nonimmigrant aliens.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 27, 1998

 Mr. Kennedy (for himself and Mrs. Feinstein) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize a temporary 
   increase in the number of skilled foreign workers admitted to the 
 United States, to improve efforts to recruit United States workers in 
  lieu of foreign workers, and to enforce labor conditions regarding 
                          nonimmigrant aliens.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``High-Tech Immigration and United 
States Worker Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY INCREASE IN SKILLED FOREIGN WORKERS.

    Section 214(g)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1184(g)(1)) is amended to read:
    ``(g)(1) The total number of aliens who may be issued visas or 
otherwise provided nonimmigrant status during any fiscal year--
            ``(A) under section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), may not exceed--
                    ``(i) 90,000 in each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 
                and 2000, or
                    ``(ii) 65,000 in fiscal year 2001 or any fiscal 
                year thereafter,
        except that in each of fiscal years 1999 through 2000, not more 
        than 5,000 of the visas or grants of status may be provided to 
        aliens described in section 212(a)(5)(C); and
            ``(B) under section 101(a)(15)(H)(ii)(b), may not exceed--
                    ``(i) 41,000 in each of fiscal years 1998, 1999, 
                and 2000, or
                    ``(ii) 66,000 in fiscal year 2001 or any fiscal 
                year thereafter.''.

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY AND REPORT ON LABOR MARKET NEEDS.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
conduct a study assessing labor market needs for workers with high 
technology skills and the extent to which job openings requiring 
workers with high technology skills are likely to be unfilled in each 
of the fiscal years 2001 through 2006.
    (b) Report.--Not later than October 1, 2000, the Comptroller 
General shall submit a report containing the results of the study 
described in subsection (a) to the Committees on the Judiciary of the 
House of Representatives and the Senate. The report shall also address 
the effect on the high technology labor market of the following:
            (1) The downsizing of the defense sector.
            (2) The increase in productivity in the computer industry.
            (3) The redeployment of workers dedicated to year 2000 
        projects.

SEC. 4. INVESTMENT IN TRAINING HIGH TECHNOLOGY WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--There is established in the Department of Labor a 
$100,000,000 fund to assist United States workers to obtain skills that 
employers indicate are in short supply as evidenced by filings of Labor 
Condition Applications filed for aliens described in section 
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, of which 
not less than 85 percent shall be available for the activities 
described in subsection (b).
    (b) Loan Program.--
            (1) In general.--There is established in the Department of 
        Labor a program to provide individuals with loans to obtain 
        training necessary for employment in those occupations which 
        are in high demand as evidenced by filings of Labor Condition 
        Applications by employers for aliens described in section 
        101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. 
        This loan program shall be administered from the funds referred 
        to in section 212(n)(3)(B). Loans provided under this section 
        shall not exceed $10,000 a person.
            (2) Program requirements.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
        establish criteria for implementing the loan program described 
        in subsection (a), which include the following:
                    (A) Qualifications of individuals.--The loan 
                program shall provide that individuals receiving a loan 
                under this section--
                            (i) have sufficient education or experience 
                        to enable them to qualify for employment in 
                        high technology industries with limited 
                        additional training;
                            (ii) are of working age and are United 
                        States citizens or qualified aliens described 
                        in section 431 of the Personal Responsibility 
                        and Work Reconciliation Act of 1996 (8 U.S.C. 
                        1641); and
                            (iii) repay the loan in full not later than 
                        4 years after completing the training for which 
                        the individual received the loan.
                    (B) Certification.--
                            (i) Fiscal years 1999-2001.--For each of 
                        fiscal years 1999 through 2001, the loan 
                        program shall be available only for training 
                        courses that the Secretary of Labor has 
                        certified as appropriate to obtain employment 
                        in high technology industries in the United 
                        States.
                            (ii) Fiscal year 2002 and thereafter.--For 
                        fiscal year 2002, and each fiscal year 
                        thereafter, the loan program shall be available 
                        only for training courses certified by the 
                        Secretary of Labor as appropriate to fill the 
                        occupations which are in high demand as 
                        evidenced by filings of Labor Condition 
Applications by employers for aliens described in section 
101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.
                    (C) Other criteria.--The Secretary of Labor shall 
                establish such other criteria as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate with respect to certifying 
                courses that qualify for the loan program, identifying 
                individuals who qualify for loans under the program, 
                and carrying out the provisions of this section.
    (c) Labor Department Grant Program To Create Regional Skills 
Alliances.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of Labor, in consultation 
        with the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Education, 
        shall provide ``seed'' grants to eligible entities described in 
        subsection (b) to assist such entities in creating Regional 
        Skills Alliances. The purpose of these Regional Skills 
        Alliances will be to help industry organize the labor market to 
        better meet their needs by--
                    (A) improving the job skills of American workers 
                necessary for employment in specific industries and 
                occupations; and/or
                    (B) assessing and developing strategies to address 
                critical skills needs at the local, State, regional, 
                and national levels.
            (2) Eligible entities.--
                    (A) In general.--An eligible entity described in 
                this subsection is a consortium that consists of, but 
                is not limited to, 2 or more of the following:
                            (i) Employers.
                            (ii) Labor organizations.
                            (iii) State and local governments.
                            (iv) Private Industry Councils or successor 
                        entities.
                            (v) Postsecondary educational institutions.
                            (vi) Nonprofit organizations that represent 
                        businesses or industries.
                            (vii) Nonprofit training organizations.
                    (B) Additional requirement.--To the maximum extent 
                practicable, each business, organization, or government 
                that forms an eligible entity under paragraph (1) shall 
                be located in the same geographic region of the United 
                States.
            (3) Maximum amount and timing of grants.--The amount of a 
        grant provided to an eligible entity under paragraph (1) may 
        not exceed $2,000,000 for an 18-month grant period and may be 
        provided to that eligible entity only for a maximum of 2 such 
        grant periods.
            (4) Application.--The Secretary may not provide a grant 
        under paragraph (1) to an eligible entity unless such entity 
        submits to the Secretary an application containing such 
        information as the Secretary may reasonably require.
            (5) Use of amounts.--In carrying out the program described 
        in paragraph (1), the eligible entity may, to the extent that 
        such activities build on and supplement activities already 
        underway as opposed to duplicating or substituting for current 
        activities, provide for--
                    (A) an identification of local, State, regional, 
                and national skills needs;
                    (B) an assessment of the extent to which United 
                States workers are being educated and trained in needed 
                critical skills;
                    (C) the development of strategies to better focus 
                existing training and education investments on rapidly 
                expanding occupations;
                    (D) the provision of improved occupational 
                information and projections;
                    (E) an assessment of training and job skill needs 
                for specific industries;
                    (F) development of a sequence of skill standards 
                that are benchmarked to advanced industry practices for 
                specific industries;
                    (G) development of curriculum and training methods;
                    (H) identification and development of training 
                providers;
                    (I) development of apprenticeship programs; and
                    (J) development of training programs for dislocated 
                workers.
            (6) Additional criteria for grants.--In making grants under 
        this subsection, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) use a peer review process to award grants;
                    (B) give preference to the extent to which 
                applications provide funds from non-Federal sources to 
                match Federal funds; and
                    (C) give preference to applications that 
                demonstrate significant collaboration with major 
                stakeholders in the State and local workforce 
                development system, particularly Private Councils and 
                labor organizations.
            (7) National alliance for high-technology skills.--The 
        grants for Regional Skills alliances will be complemented by 
        the establishment of a National Alliance for High-Technology 
        Skills which shall consist of national representatives from 
        government, industry, labor organizations, and education. The 
        purpose of the National Alliance will be to develop and 
        recommend strategies to the President for the education and 
        training of American workers to meet the demand for high-
        technology skills.
            (8) Definition.--For purposes of this subsection, the term 
        ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Labor.

SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT OF LABOR CONDITIONS FOR NONIMMIGRANTS.

    Section 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(n)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A), by striking the first sentence and 
        inserting the following: ``The Secretary shall conduct an 
        investigation where there is reasonable cause to believe that 
        an employer has made a misrepresentation of a material fact on 
a labor condition attestation or has failed to comply with the terms 
and conditions of an application submitted under paragraph (1) or with 
the provisions of this section or any rule or regulation pertaining to 
this section. The Secretary shall establish a process for the receipt, 
investigation, and disposition of complaints or other cases of 
noncompliance with this section.'';
            (2) in paragraph (2)(C), by inserting ``, or that the 
        employer failed to cooperate in the conduct of the Secretary's 
        investigation or has intimidated, discharged, or otherwise 
        discriminated against any person because that person has 
        asserted a right or has cooperated in an investigation under 
        this paragraph'' after ``a material fact in an application'';
            (3) by inserting after paragraph (2)(D) the following:
            ``(E) Any alien admitted to the United States as a 
        nonimmigrant described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b) of this 
        Act who files a complaint pursuant to this subsection and is 
        otherwise eligible to remain and work in the United States, 
        shall be allowed to seek other employment in the United States 
        for the duration of that alien's authorized admission, provided 
        that--
                    ``(i) the complaint results in finding by the 
                Secretary of Labor of a failure by the employer to meet 
                the conditions in paragraph (2)(C), and
                    ``(ii) the alien notifies the Immigration and 
                Naturalization Service of the name and address of his 
                new employer.'';
            (4) by striking clause (i) of paragraph (2)(C) and 
        inserting the following:
                    ``(i) the Secretary shall notify the Attorney 
                General of such finding and may, in addition, impose 
                such other administrative remedies as the Secretary 
                determines to be appropriate, assess civil money 
                penalties in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each 
                violation, with such penalties to be deposited for use 
                in the loan program established under section 4 of the 
                High-Tech Immigration and United States Worker 
                Protection Act.'';
            (5) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following 
        new subparagraph:
            ``(E) The Secretary may issue subpoenas requiring the 
        attendance and testimony of witnesses or the production of any 
        records, books, papers, or documents in connection with any 
        investigation or hearing, conducted under this paragraph. In 
        conducting a hearing, the Secretary may administer oaths, 
        examine witnesses, and receive evidence. For the purpose of any 
        hearing or investigation provided for in this paragraph, the 
        authority contained in sections 9 and 10 of the Federal Trade 
        Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 49 and 50), relating to the 
        attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers, 
        and documents, shall apply.''; and
            (6) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(3)(A) The Secretary of Labor shall require payment of a 
        fee by the employer for each position for which an application 
        is filed under this subsection. The fee shall be in an amount 
        prescribed by the Secretary of Labor, and shall be paid to the 
        Department of Labor.
            ``(B)(i) Such fee shall be used only--
                    ``(I) to defray the cost of processing labor 
                condition applications and for personnel and other 
                costs directly associated with administering and 
                enforcing the requirements applicable to aliens 
                described in section 101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), including the 
                collection, safeguarding, and accounting for fees 
                collected pursuant to and funds obligated or expended 
                pursuant to this subsection; and
                    ``(II) to endow the loan program and provide grants 
                established under section 4 of the High-Tech 
                Immigration and United States Worker Protection Act.
            ``(ii) During the period ending September 30, 2001, such 
        fee shall not exceed $250 for each position.
            ``(iii) Not less than $5,000,000 of the funds collected 
        from the fee authorized under this paragraph shall be available 
        for the purposes described in this subsection and shall cover 
        the costs to the Department of Labor of conducting regular, 
        random audits relating to the attestations under this 
        subsection and of engaging in other enforcement activities in 
        connection with this subsection.
            ``(iv) Fees collected under this paragraph shall be 
        available to the Department of Labor, without regard to 
        appropriation Acts and without fiscal year limitation, to 
        supplement funds otherwise available to the Department of 
        Labor.
            ``(v) It shall be unlawful for an employer to require, as a 
        condition of employment by such employer, that the fee 
        prescribed under this paragraph, or any part of the fee, be 
        paid directly or indirectly by the alien whose services are 
        being sought.
            ``(vi) Any person or entity that is determined, after 
        notice and opportunity for an administrative hearing, to have 
        violated clause (v) shall be subject to a civil penalty of 
        $5,000 for each violation, to an administrative order requiring 
        the payment of any fee described in this paragraph, and to 
        disqualification for 1 year from petitioning for foreign 
        skilled temporary workers under this subsection.
            ``(vii) Any amount determined to have been paid, directly 
        or indirectly, toward the filing fee described in paragraph 
        (3)(A) by the alien whose services were sought, shall be repaid 
        from the fund to such alien.''.

SEC. 6. RECRUITMENT OF UNITED STATES WORKERS PRIOR TO SEEKING 
              NONIMMIGRANT WORKERS.

    (a) In General.--Section 212(n)(1) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1182(n)(1)) is amended by inserting at the 
end the following new subparagraph:
            ``(E)(i) The employer, prior to filing the application, has 
        taken timely, significant, and effective steps to recruit and 
retain sufficient United States workers in the specialty occupation in 
which the nonimmigrant whose services are being sought will be 
employed. Such steps include good faith recruitment in the United 
States using procedures that meet industry-wide standards offering 
compensation as required by subparagraph (A) and offering of employment 
to any qualified United States worker applicant or such good faith 
recruitment must otherwise be unsuccessful.
            ``(ii) The recruitment requirements of this subparagraph 
        shall not apply to aliens with extraordinary ability, aliens 
        who are outstanding professors and researchers, and certain 
        multinational executives and managers described in section 
        203(b)(1).''.
    (b) Wage Comparability.--Section 212(n)(1)(A)(i)(I) of such Act is 
amended by inserting ``(including wages, benefits, and all other 
compensation)'' after ``actual wage level''.

SEC. 7. NONDISPLACEMENT OF UNITED STATES WORKERS.

    Section 212(n) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(n)), as amended by section 5, is amended by adding at the end the 
following new paragraph:
            ``(4)(A) The employer--
                    ``(i) has not, within the 6-month period prior to 
                the filing of the application, laid off or otherwise 
                displaced any United States worker (as defined in 
                subparagraph (B), including a worker obtained by 
                contract, employee leasing, temporary help agreement, 
                or other similar basis, who has substantially 
                equivalent qualifications and experience in the 
                occupation classification for the position in which the 
                nonimmigrant is intended to be (or is) employed; and
                    ``(ii) will not lay off or otherwise knowingly 
                displace, during the 90-day period following the filing 
                of the application, or during the 90-day period 
                immediately preceding and following the filing of any 
                visa petition supported by the application, any United 
                States worker, including any worker obtained by 
                contract, who has substantially equivalent 
                qualifications and experience in the occupation 
                classification for the position in which the 
                nonimmigrant is intended to be (or is) employed.
            ``(B) For purposes of this subsection, the term `United 
        States worker' means--
                    ``(i) a citizen or national of the United States;
                    ``(ii) an alien lawfully admitted to the United 
                States for permanent residence; or
                    ``(iii) an alien authorized to be employed by this 
                Act or by the Attorney General.
            ``(C) For purposes of this subparagraph, the term `laid 
        off', with respect to an employee, means the employee's loss of 
        employment, other than a discharge for cause or a voluntary 
        departure or voluntary retirement. The term `laid off' does not 
        apply to any case in which employment is relocated to a 
        different geographic area and the affected employee is offered 
        a chance to move to the new location with the same wages and 
        benefits but elects not to move to the new location.''.

SEC. 8. LIMITATION ON PERIOD OF AUTHORIZED ADMISSION.

    Section 214(g)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act is amended 
by striking ``6 years'' and inserting ``3 years''.

SEC. 9. APPLICABILITY TO EXECUTIVE AGENCIES.

    Section 212(n)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 
1182(n)(1)), as amended by adding at the end the following new 
sentence: ``Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, or any 
other law, the Secretary shall have authority to require executive 
agencies as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105 to comply with this section, and 
such agencies shall be subject to the regulations of the Secretary 
promulgated pursuant to this section.''.
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